


Burn A New Light (But Not Yourself)

by Danesincry



Series: Into The Unknown (And Out of Gravity Falls) [2]
Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Adelaide is a literal Witch, Backstory, Beast Wirt, Beast and Wirt fight, Demon! Wirt, Good Brother Wirt, If you offer someone freedom they'll help you, Lantern-Bearer Wirt, Sara is briefly there, The Unknown (Over the Garden Wall), Transformation, Whump, Wirt goes to hell and back for Greg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 10:46:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16617491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danesincry/pseuds/Danesincry
Summary: Wirt would do anything to save Greg, even if it meant fighting the Beast head on.It's sad that even when Wirt won, he still lost because everything goes wrong.---My version of Wirt becoming the Beast. It has some harsh pain and screaming on Wirt's side once he's done, just letting you know.This is the backstory for Shine A Light For Me (But Don't Shadow Yourself). You do not have to read that one to understand this one.





	Burn A New Light (But Not Yourself)

Two years.

It took them two years to get from the Woodsman’s house to Adelaide’s home. Between dodging the Beast and every creature around the corner, the days dragged on and on. 

They had finally reached Adelaide’s house two months after leaving the ferry, which had brought them too far downstream and threw them them off. It brought them to Lorna’s cottage with her Aunty Whispers. They had stayed about a month after fixing her, trying to plan how to deal with Adelaide. Aunty Whispers had warned them that Adelaide was a woman witch that wanted a servant for the rest of her stiff and dusty old days. They found out that Beatrice was going back on her promise and that was why she prolonged the journey by months to save the brothers. Adelaide had reached out to her and she had gone back to explain that they were troublesome and that they drew a lot of trouble and the Beast wouldn’t give up on them no matter how optimistic they tried to be. Wirt had almost given up many times, almost letting the Beast take him away. Adelaide said that she would wait patiently for their deal and that she would manage on her own until then. And now that they arrived to Adelaide’s, they had gotten out of her trap by jumping out of the way easily.

“A pesky pair, aren’t you?” Adelaide chidded and Wirt cringed at her voice. “Tell me, if you knew about our dear birdy’s tricks, why would you come?”

“I want to make a deal.” Wirt stood tall. “I know the Beast put this curse on you.”

This caught Adelaide’s attention. “Yes, child? And what do you propose?”

“You beckon to his call. You have to do what he says. He keeps you in here to keep that power. You trick people into doing your bidding and do all of that because of your curse.” Wirt puts out a hand. “If I defeat the Beast and put myself as your servant, you will fix Beatrice and her family and then get my brother back safely.”

Adelaide paused. Wirt knew that he would be offering freedome for three people, but damning himself to servitude for them. Possibly dying.

“And if you fail, child?” Adelaide asked.

“Then there is no deal to fulfil. Unless I manage half of the deal.” Wirt stood tall. He hoped she would take it.

“Wirt…” Beatrice whispered. He knew the others disapproved, but he could easily get rid of Adelaide with the help of Aunty Whispers. He just needed them safe.

“Alright, child.” Adelaide stood up. It was slow and she walked towards him. “Let me tell you. Come closer. Only you shall know, in case it backfires.”

Wirt approached and leaned in towards the old lady.

“The Beast’s flame is in the Lantern that the Woodsman carried. You must get him to attract the Beast and then light yourself with the flame. You will have six minutes to kill him. Your power will be equal, if not greater than his. You will be able to kill him due to the temporary demon-hood. But once you kill him, put the flame back automatically and blow it out. If you just blow him out he will linger in the woods. His spirit being freed and slowly dying out. But he is not completely deal. He is a demon.” Adelaide whispered to him. “But make sure you do it on time. Child, once you are done, come back to me. The souls of the ones who belonged in this realm will be returned, but not those from your home. Tell the Woodsman that his daughter is home.”

Wirt nodded and bit his lip. He could do this. He could. For Beatrice. For Greg. For everyone that the Beast had taken from the Unknown. He didn’t even know that was possible.

“Wirt?” Greg’s quiet voice asked. Wirt turned to his brother and took in how much he’s grown. He was now taller and looked like he was losing his baby fat. He was now 11, Wirt 18, and he couldn’t believe that if they were home that Greg would be a 6th grader soon. He thinks. He doesn’t remember how the systems worked anymore. It has been too long. Greg had lost a lot of his overly childish nature and only held his natural childish charm. He wouldn’t have been able to last this long without Greg.

“Hey, buddy. I’m going to go fight the Beast. Okay? It really shouldn’t take too long. Adelaide won’t hurt you until I get back. If she does, the deal with be broken and I won’t be able to free her. Got it?” Wirt kissed Greg’s forehead.

“Please don’t die or mess up…” Greg spoke quietly. “Please…”

“I won’t.” Wirt offered a small smile and stood up. “I’ll see you soon, Greg.”

And with a small goodbye from Beatrice, he left.

-

Wirt walked around the woods until he saw the soft glowing of a lantern. He braced himself as he approached. There was a sound of chopping wood as he approached and Wirt made himself ready. The Woodsman came into view and he knew the Beast was nearby. The Woodsman stopped and turned to Wirt to.

“You shouldn’t be here child. The Beast is near-” The Woodsman started and Wirt cut him off.

“Mr. Hout, I know.” Wirt stopped in front of him. “I know how to bring Eik back, out of the Lantern.”

“What… How?” The Woodsman flinched at his old last name, not hearing it in a while.

“I have to defeat the Beast. But I need the Lantern. Please, stand down and give me it.” Wirt held out his hand. 

“How do I know you’re not lying, boy?” The Woodsman asked.

“Because many people’s lives are on stake.” Wirt took a step forward.

The Woodsman hesitated before handing over the Lantern. Immediately Wirt could feel the cold pull of the Beast and his whispering. The whispers tried to tell him to pick up the axe and axe down the Woodsman to make him into a tree. Wirt took in a deep breath and turned to the woods.

“BEAST!” Wirt called out into the woods. “I HAVE YOUR LANTERN!”

There was a rustling in the brush to his right and Wirt quickly turned to see the angry figure of the Beast. Wirt could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves and he could see his body wavering.

“You do not deserve to hold the Lantern.” The Beast’s voice was cold and harsh. “I know you wish to trick me, child.”

“Then you should expect this.” Wirt opened the Lantern and stuck his arm into the fire, all the way to his long sleeve shirt cuff. The fire didn’t feel exactly like fire. It was hot, but it did not burn him. Not externally. He could feel it connect with him and burn his very being. Wirt let out a small scream as the fire quickly spread across his arm and the Lantern fell to the ground softly.

“Foolish boy! You will perish and I will consume you directly!” The Beast cackled.

Wirt had to close his eyes as the fire settled in and his body adapted to the demonic flame. He opened his eyes again and he could see the glowing of his eyes on his nose and the top of his cheeks.

“Foolish of you to think that I can’t defeat you on time.” Wirt forced a grin and grabbed the axe that the Woodsman had dropped in his shock. Wirt launched himself at the Beast, who screeched and tried to escape the now flaming axe. At that moment, they were locked in a fight. Two forces that were almost equal, but one being the other’s worst weakness. It only took four minutes for Wirt to finally get the Beast down to the ground. His pelt had burnt away and all that was left was his eerie eyes and wooden body.

“You foolish boy. When I am gone, someone will have to take up the task of collecting lost souls.” The Beast chided. “You will be consumed by the flame and you will never escape!” 

“You don’t know anything.” Wirt stared at the Beast under him and put his burning hand to the Beast’s face before raising the axe and bringing it down upon the Beast’s neck. The let out a ear shattering screech before he cracked and turned into oil. 

Wirt stared down at the oil, his breaths quick and ragged. He dropped to his knees and slowly placed his burning hand into the oil, almost entranced by it. The second his hand entered the oil, it caught flame and spread across it. He could hear the Beast’s soul screaming as the flame ate it. This was power. This is what being a demon- a Beast felt like.

The oil burned away and left Wirt sitting in the snow. His heart was racing and threatening to break out of his body. Then he felt it.

A scream ripped from his throat as his insides twisted. Something was wrong. The flame was absorbing itself into Wirt’s body and his vision was swimming. Pain blossomed from his head and suddenly his head felt more heavy. More sensitive. He gagged and coughed until black oil came from his mouth and onto the perfect white snow.

“H-help!” Wirt cried out and raised a hand to touch his face. But his hand caught him off guard. It was Edelwood and his fingers looked like branches, but still fingers. Like claws. He screamed and put his hands to his face. There was oil coming from his eyes, mixing with his tears. His nose was also bleeding the black oil. He cried as the pain kept washing over him, changing him into whatever it was changing him into. He didn’t understand. He just defeated the Beast and was about to retrieve the Lantern. What went wrong?

“Child?” And old voice called out and Wirt’s head snapped towards the source. The Woodsman was staring at him, terror and worry painting his face. He pointed to the Lantern, which had sputtered back to life and seemed to shine brighter than Wirt had ever seen it.

“No…” Wirt whispered. Everything started to spin. He was going to throw up if he didn’t focus.

Wirt pushed himself up and staggered towards the Lantern. He picked it up almost gracefully, his hands automatically gripping it.

“You defeated him… and consumed him in your flame…” The Woodsman whispered.

“I… I need to get to Greg.” Wirt’s mind went to a million directions. He could feel Greg’s worry and pain from miles away. Greg needed him. “I need-”

Wirt stumbled towards where Greg was, almost tripping over himself. The Woodsman grabbed his shoulders and helped balance Wirt.

“Your daughter… Eik…” Her name came to her naturally. He recognized the names now. Eik was Dutch for Oak. Hoat was wood. He wanted to laugh at the irony of the surname and the daughter’s name. “She is at your home. Go home to her. She was never in the Lantern. He took her soul… but I freed her.” 

“Thank you, son.” The Woodsman whispered. “Go get your brother out of here. I don’t believe you can leave now, but he still can.”

Wirt nodded and stumbled away. His legs were in pain and he didn’t think he could make it, but he managed to. He pushed the door open to Adelaide's cottage, his head tilting to the side as he walked in. Adelaide, Greg, and Beatrice stared at Wirt in horror as the door banged shut behind him. 

“W-Wirt?” Greg whispered and approached Wirt. Wirt slowly sunk down to Greg’s level and shook as Greg put his hands on Wirt’s face.

“I’m back. I did it. I got rid of him.” Wirt pressed their faces together and Greg wrapped his arms around Wirt.

“You killed the Beast by killing his physical body… and the fire became you and you burned his remains of oil as your fuel…” Adelaide spoke out. “You are the new Beast.”

Wirt looked up and Adelaide took out a mirror from her pouch. Wirt was pale and had wood lines on his neck. His hands were Edelwood like he already knew, but his head shocked him. His eyes were of the Beast’s multicolored fluorescent. He had the same Edelwood antlers sprouting from the sides of his head. Oil was smeared across his face from when it came from his face.

“No…” Wirt whispered.

“You cannot leave the Unknown, Beast.” Adelaide announced. “But… you did fulfill half of your deal.”

Adelaide turned to Beatrice and plucked a feather from her. She held a fist around it and rubbed over the closed fingers. She then opened her hand and blew the blue dust that sat in her palm onto Beatrice.

“This should undo the curse since it is tethered to you.” Adelaide wiped her hand off. “But… you can change into blue jays. The curse still stands, but this blessing will counteract it.”

“Thank you…” Beatrice landed on the floor and turned into a girl. She looked no older than Wirt.

Adelaide turned to Greg and smiled at him.

“Now boy. I am going to give you two options. Stay here and be tethered to your brother and his Lantern, being able to help him. You will forever stay this young like he now is. Or you can go home.” Adelaide held out he hand towards Greg.

“I…” Greg looked between Wirt and Adelaide and Wirt could feel anxiety build up in him.

“Greg… I’ll miss you, but please. Go home. Don’t be stuck here. This is my fault.” Wirt whispered to Greg.

“No, Wirt. This is also my fault. I shouldn’t have given Sara the tape.” Greg took off his pouch and took his rock out. He handed Beatrice the rock. “Beatrice, watch him for me, okay?”

Beatrice nodded and Greg handed Adelaide the pouch.

“Send this instead. Mom and Dad will find it and it’ll give them something to hold onto.” Greg let it fall into her hand.

“Are you sure, child? Once you get old enough, once your brother dies, you will also. This might only be his lifeline right now, but you two are tethered together. Once you are old, you die with the flame. You will hear him and have part of the burden of the Lantern-Bearer.” Adelaide warned.

“Anything for Wirt.” Greg stood his ground.

“Then be it.” Adelaide sent the pouch off. “Welcome, Beast and his Lantern-Bearer.”

-

“The Beast is dead. But a new one has taken his place.”

“Who? The Pilgrim?”

“The human boy has saved us. He will no longer make us live in fear.”

“We cannot trust a Beast.”

“Do not trust his lies, Dear.”

“He has saved us, but we must fear our guardian Beast. He still has great power. We are thankful, but we must protect him back.”

“No one shall reveal the true nature of the new Beast to any new comer. If they make the journey or decide to reside here, then let them be. They’ll figure out the truth themselves. But God bless the souls that get lost.”

\---

A small memorial was placed upon the riverbank. It held pictures of two young boys, smiling together in a picture. Toys and flowers were placed around the pictures. A flashlight’s beam hit right above the picture, letting light fall upon the faces of the boys.

“I’m sorry I didn’t visit yesterday. It’s been two years already, hasn’t it? I wish you could have been here to see the halloween themed memorial service at your house. They had toy elephants and cheesy garden gnomes. I also… I couldn’t face your parents this year.” The girl looked down at the picture, her brown eyes trained on the bright faces. “I finally got to listen to your mixtape. I thought it was good. I didn’t tell your parents about it. I didn’t even let Jason Funderburker listen to it. I know you had some odd rivalry with him.”

The girl crouched down to place a small wooden carving of Greg and Wirt on the memorial. She dug them in slightly to the ground so they wouldn’t get lost.

“I carved these for you in woodshop. I thought you’d like them.” She stood back up and gave a sad smile. “You know, when you come home you’ll have to tell me about everything. What is keeping you so long?”

The girl was going to continue, but a small splash caught her attention. She turned and pointed her flashlight to the lake and squinted. There… was something in the water.

Oh my god there was something in the water.

The girl raced down to the water and picked up a stick. She moved it over to her and picked it up. It was… a pouch? Almost like a fanny pack. She stared at it, knowing it felt familiar. She turned it over and peered at the writing on the inside of it.

“Gregory Baker-Finch.” She read it outloud. 

She froze and her mouth opened slightly.

“Oh my God- Greg.” The girl opened it and looked inside to see old candy and that the pouch was relatively dry. There was a few pieces of weathered paper that had songs on it. One was about potatoes and molasse, the other about a parade to someone named Adelaide.

“The Unknown. Dark and mysterious. The Beast prowls, searching for us forever. We wish to escape, but we will most likely not succeed. I wish only for the safety of home. But this is home. Fear The Unknown.” The girl read out loud. It was Wirt’s handwriting, his poetry. This was nothing like she had ever seen. 

The girl turned around and booked it up the hill and into the graveyard. She ran all the way to the home of the Baker-Finch’s and gave them the last known items of their sons. They cried and thanked her, asking where she found it.

“In the water. But… I think it came from the Unknown.”


End file.
